Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Straw-yellow, almost golden in its color, Huet's 2013 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec displays a very clear, intense and aromatic bouquet of ripe, yellow-fleshed fruits and a discreet limestone flavor. More open, round and accessible today on the palate than the corresponding Le Haut-Lieu, this is a full-bodied, complex and mineral Chenin that shows a stunning elegance along with a lingering salinity in the very long, tension-filled and lovely aromatic finish. This is a very pleasant Chenin from this difficult vintage.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Stretching east along the steep banks of the Loire River, Touraine is a major part of the Middle Loire. Soil variations of clay, sand, tuffeau and gravel throughout its subregions support both white and red varieties. Chinon and Bourgueil remain the source of Loire’s finest Cabernet Franc; various styles of the most outstanding Chenin blanc come from Vouvray and Montlouis.